Teen turns to Web for help getting into ND

Senior from Michigan using site to raise money.

Senior from Michigan using site to raise money.

March 17, 2009

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) -- The name of Rachel Harris' Web site says it all. The 17-year-old high school senior recently launched IWantToGoToNotreDame.com to help her raise money to pay for an education at the school. The site includes copies of her Notre Dame application form, letters of recommendation and her high school transcript. Harris has applied for admission to the Roman Catholic school and expects to be accepted there. The problem is meeting its more than $46,000 annual cost of tuition, fees, room and board. She hopes her Web site will generate enough in donations to help cover at least part of it. She has applied for at least 10 scholarships, she said. "Last year, I saw the power of the Internet, as President (Barack) Obama did some very successful fundraising for his presidential campaign," Harris told The Muskegon Chronicle for a story posted online. "I decided to try and use the power of the Internet to help me pay for my college education." She carries a 3.97 grade-point average and is ranked 10th in her class at Reeths-Puffer High School in Muskegon County's Muskegon Township. She plans to pursue a degree in biomolecular engineering at Notre Dame and then attend medical school to become a pediatric endocrinologist, she said. "The only thing that is keeping me from possibly going is the financial aspect to it, especially with these economic times," Harris said. "I'm just doing everything I can to not let that stop me from going there." She already has been accepted into the University of Michigan, a much less expensive public school. If she ends up attending Michigan, she would return any Notre Dame donations received. Lee Harris said his daughter loves the Notre Dame campus, the school's faith-based learning and its biomolecular program. Besides applying for scholarships and trying to raise donations, she has contacted prominent Notre Dame alumni and local Catholic foundation executives in an effort to improve her chances of attending. "She's learning that if you want something, you work toward it," he said. "She's also learning the value of networking."